amalthea's horn

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The cornucopia or "horn of plenty" (#.v.). The infant Zeus was fed with goats' milk by Amalthea, one of the daughters of Melisseus, King of Crete.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “amalthea's horn” mean?

The cornucopia or "horn of plenty" (#.v.). The infant Zeus was fed with goats' milk by Amalthea, one of the daughters of Melisseus, King of Crete.

Is “amalthea's horn” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.